Tolkien was a philologist, and an Oxford don, and could spend decades laboriously inventing Elvish in all its detail. I, alas, am only a hardworking SF and fantasy novel, and I don't have his gift for languages. That is to say, I have not actually created a Valyrian language. The best I could do was try to sketch in each of the chief tongues of my imaginary world in broad strokes, and give them each their characteristic sounds and spellings.[3]

The Valyrian writing system, or at least a Valyrian writing system, is described as involving glyphs.[25] It was also probably standard practice to write on scrolls, and not in books.[4] The glyphs can also be inscribed, as on an old Valyrian dragon horn, which, when sounded, had "every line and letter shimmering with white fire."[26]

Astapori Valyrian is described as having a "characteristic growl," influenced by Ghiscari.[33] The dialect of Yunkai is close enough to that of Astapor to be mutually intelligible.[34]

Yunkai used to be part of the Old Empire of Ghis, and has multiple languages spoken in the city. Mhysa, Maela, Aelalla, Qathei, and Tato are given as words for "mother", but which tongue fits which word is unknown (excepting the first, which is Ghiscari).[34]

Some slavers speak a mongrel tongue,[35] a blend of Old Ghiscari and High Valyrian.[36]